1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector for a peripheral device, and, more particularly, to a reconfigurable connector which can be configured to supply power from the peripheral device to a device which is interfaced with the connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a device interfaced with a parallel port of a peripheral device receives power from an external power source via a power adapter. One example of such a device is a network dongle.
A network dongle, also known as a network expansion device, is an adapter that plugs into a parallel port of a network peripheral device, such as a printer, for the purpose of connecting the network peripheral device to a network. An example of a network dongle installed into a standard parallel port of a printer is shown in FIG. 1.
More specifically, FIG. 1 shows dongle 81 interfaced with standard parallel connector 11 of printer 10. FIG. 1 further shows that a conventional network dongle, such as network dongle 81, requires connection to a network via network cable 82 and to an external power source (not shown) via power cord 84 and power adapter 90.
Power adapter 90 converts power from an external power source to power that can be used by the network dongle. However, a major concern for manufacturers of network dongles is both power cord 84 and power adapter 90, which output EMI emissions which possibly can interfere with broadcast communications. These EMI emissions can be a problem for the manufacturer when the network dongle undergoes standardized testing.
Additionally, the cost of manufacturing the network dongle increases greatly due to the cost of power adapter 90.
Moreover, the power adapter and the power cord also make it more difficult to use the network dongle with a peripheral device since the extra power cord and power adapter means that at least one extra power outlet is required. This requirement for an extra power outlet can become a problem due to the size of the power adapter which may cover many power outlets on a power strip, especially in the case where the peripheral device to which the network dongle is connected has multiple power connections which require many of the power outlets on the power strip.
Thus, there exists a need for a peripheral device interface connector which permits not only the interfacing of signals, but also the transfer of power from the peripheral device to an interfaced device, such as a network dongle, so as to eliminate the need, by the interfaced device, for an external power source and thus for an external power adapter for and a power cord.